Emotions at Play – Why You Need to Adopt Emotional Packaging

Shyrose Vastani Jul 24, 2015

In a world full of, and increasingly defined by, brands, there is often very little through which you can differentiate between them. Two, or more, different brands may offer the same product, at similar prices, with equal quality, and the only differences between the two would be negligible, if apparent to you at all. How then, does a customer decide which of the two products to purchase?

Therein lies the essential need to be able to set your brand apart from the rest, to distinguish yourself enough to attract customers to your products and services, and not to your competitors’. There are things you need to buy, and those you want to buy. Even if we consider only that which is necessary, the conundrum doesn’t become any simpler. All else being equal, your decision must by necessity be an emotional one.

A Challenge to Feel

So, what will trigger these emotions? Past experience with the brand, in most cases, since a level of trust would have been established. What, though, of the newly launched brands? For such, the only way to trigger an emotional response from a customer is through the product’s packaging. If you can entice a visceral emotional reaction from your target audience through your packaging, then your brand may well be on the road to success.

Emotional packaging, rendered creatively enough, can prove to be the most powerful branding and marketing weapon in designing a perfect brand profile. You need to make your target audience feel, and then to respond to those feelings by paying money for your products and services. Design your packaging just right, and you will encourage a positive emotional response, which in turn, will engender brand loyalty.

The Process of Emotion

When a consumer comes into contact with a brand, the first thing they encounter is the packaging. So, if you wish emotion to dictate this interaction, it follows that your packaging strategy be defined by a case of the feels. You need to create the environment which best encourages your desired results. Here is how you do it.

To Set the Mood

Your target audience, before they decide to purchase your products, must first be attracted towards them on the retail shelf or online store. They won’t be, not unless you set the right mood – through the container, imagery, color, and typography, which combine to define the overall look and feel of your brand’s packaging. The mood set by your packaging should draw the customers’ eyes away from your competitors’ offerings, and onto yours, even with a cursory glance.

Taste in Imagery

Ignore the obvious, but only at your own peril. A lot of brands shy away from the obvious, deeming it redundant and unnecessary. However, that is precisely the point. If canned mushrooms is what you sell, your packaging should contain an image of, guess what, mushrooms. You cannot expect the customer to stop and read in order to understand your product. They will move on, and your sales will suffer. You have but a moment to capture their attention. Don’t waste it with complications. Easy and simple does it, always.

An Exquisite Display

Ever heard about leaving something to the imagination? Yes, that is enticing, but it only works if something else is tantalizingly, exquisitely displayed as well. Wrap your product in clever packaging so you can provide a glimpse of your product to your audience. Draw the customer in with an exhibition of your product’s craftsmanship, a hint of its quality, its texture and color, and a teasing reveal of its flavor.

The Tale You Tell

So, the mood is set, the imagery is appropriate, and a veiled display teases your customers’ attention. How do you transform that attention into a purchase? Why, by telling your story – a tale which speaks of your history, your passion, and above all, your purpose behind selling the particular products and services you offer. Keep it brief, but engaging enough to draw the customer in, convincing them to purchase your products over those of your competitors.

A philanthropist by nature, Shyrose Vastani is professionally working as a digital media marketer and visual design blogger. She is a visual media enthusiast with keen interests in research, business trends and graphic design. With a background in psychology, she is passionate about learning and sharing knowledge about visual media and its impact on consumer behavior and people in general.
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